, 1887-07-10
SOME QUEER MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.
The Wife Market of Pence in Brittany,
In Southern Russia.

The Wife Market of Pence in Brittany,
In Southern Russia.
1t has just been discovered by the press
writers here that a genuine woma mar
ket exists in that land of all that is Curl
GUS and bizarre-Brittany.
1t appears that in the remote village of
Pence, on a certain day of the year, all
the manageable maidens, dressed in
their best, seat themselves on the parapet
of a bridge. The young men hen file
by, chat with the fair ones, ask about
their dowry, and when they find the girl
of their choice help her descend from the
parapet, an action which appears to cor
respond to throwing the handkerchief in
eastern countries.
Meantime the girls parents have been
watching the proceedings. They now
come up, and the necessary preliminaries
are discussed. Hands are then shaken
as n sign that the bargain is concluded,
and the legal and religious rites only re-
main to be gone through with.
This recalls certain quaint French mar
riage customs. In a village in the anton
of Nantes it is considered the proper
thing TO offer the bride a dish of ''bouil-
lon as she leaves the mayors office and
a spoon perforated with holes. AT Richie
bourg in the same neighborhood a broom
is thrown on the ground, as if by acct
dent, before the BRIDES door. If she
picks it up as she comes out it is consid-
cred a sign that she will prove a good
housekceper.
In other adjoining communes two
young men the day after the marriage
take the bride on their shoulders and
carry her to the nearest village boundary,
where the newly married couple renew
their vows, the young wife in addition
solemnly promising 'never to go to hunt
for her husband at the tavern"
Turning from France toward the east,
we find the marriage customs yet more
picturesque. Thus in the south of Rus
sia many peculiar practices are still in
vogue. When the fiance to claim
his fiancee it is usual to hide her from
him with a thick veil.
When the fatal yes has been pro-
nounced a cord of white silk is passed
around the necks of the newly married
and must remain there for several hours.
The groomsmen then offer them a piece
of sugar to eat in token of the sweetness
that should characterize the marriage re-
lation.
During the wedding breakfast the bride,
although seated at the table, is not al,
lowed to partake of any of the dishes-a
symbol of the submission she owes her
husband. In other localities it is the
latter who must be gay on an empty
stomach. He, however, is not ever per,
mitted to sit down and must wait on his
guests.
In some places when the marriage pro
cession is forming one of the young men
of the party takes the place of the groom,
plays all kinds of tricks in his assumed
character, and cannot be displaced until
the future husband makes him a present
in order to come into his own again.
l am ashamed to add that in certain
villages of Little Russia the father lightly
chastises the bride with n whip, which he
then hands over to the husband. This
means that she must be eve ready tc
yield the latter obedience and not at
tempt to go counter to his wishes.
My lady readers will note that the
above customs are based on very old
fashioned and unpopular theories .-Pari.
Cor. New York Graphic.